A heart valve normally allows blood flow in only one direction through the heart. The four valves commonly represented in a mammalian heart determine the pathway of blood flow through the heart. A heart valve opens or closes incumbent upon differential blood pressure on each side.
The four valves in the heart are:
- The two atrioventricular (AV) valves, which are between the atria and the ventricles, are the mitral valve and the tricuspid valve.
- The two semilunar (SL) valves, which are in the arteries leaving the heart, are the aortic valve and the pulmonary valve.
A form of heart disease occurs when a valve malfunctions and allows some blood to flow in the wrong direction. This is called regurgitation.
Read more about Heart Valve: Atrioventricular or Cuspid Valves, Semilunar Valves, Heart Valve Dynamics
Famous quotes containing the word heart:
“...I delivered the poor who cried, and the orphan who had no helper. The blessing of the wretched came upon me, and I caused the widows heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy, and I championed the cause of the stranger. I broke the fangs of the unrighteous, and made them drop their prey from their teeth.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Job 29:12-17.
Job, recounting his faithfulness.